Independent
Trial
Location
Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Conducted by
Tremaine Family and W&J Stanton
Kangaroo Island Fertiliser Trials
Replicated trials being held at Stokes Bay and Parndana on Kangaroo Island have supported results to date showing BioAg’s immediate and sustained release fertilisers are as effective, and potentially better performing, than Single Super Phosphate (SSP). Using BioAg’s Superb® and S10 BioAgPhos® the trials displayed improved pasture production in both annual and biennial applications.
Parndana Small Plot Trial
Background
The BioAg fertiliser trial was established in 2019. The trial has 6 treatments with 4 replications and compares various BioAg products and rates against an annual application of single super.
The site is located on M & M Tremaine’s at the big bend on the Playford Highway east of Parndana. The pasture is an annual regenerating pasture. In 2019, the composition was 70:30 clover:capeweed. The site was burnt out in January 2020 and it is likely that this influenced capeweed to dominate the sward with the ratio tending 10:90 clover:capeweed in 2020.
The biomass was measured by mowing with a push behind mower and weighing the catchings. The site was not grazed.
Results
The following information includes a summary from the site in 2020 when 4 cuts were taken. The trial will run for another two years.
Table 1: Means and standard errors of each treatment at both harvest times Parndana 2020. (Biomass kg/Ha).
Figure 1: Bar plot of averages across treatments of cuts at each date for Parndana trial. Biomass (kg/Ha)
Error bars are standard errors. Refer to codes in Table 1 to identify treatments.
Conclusion
There was no significant difference on a dry matter basis between all fertiliser products. Nor was there an effect of the cumulative amount over the four harvest times.
There was a hint in the data that plots receiving treatment D (single super) were the least productive at both the Parndana and the Stokes Bay trials.
Stokes Bay Small Plot Trial
Background
The BioAg fertiliser trial was established in 2019. The trial has 6 treatments with 4 replications and compares various BioAg products and rates against an annual application of single super. The biomass is measured by mowing with a push behind mower and weighing the catchings. The site was not grazed.
The site is located on W & J Stantons at Stokes Bay on a sandy soil. The pasture is a perennial veldt grass and serradella with a light smattering of capeweed and annual ryegrass. The site was burnt out in January 2020 with the treatments closest to the scrub line suffering the most damage to the pasture base.
Results
Due to the fire and the upright podding nature of serradella it was decided to allow the serradella to set seed in spring 2020. As a result, only 2 cuts were taken during the growing season. Veldt and serradella typically hit their straps in spring and there was estimated to have been an extra 4t DM/Ha grown between September and November. The trial will run for another two years.
Table 2: Means and standard errors of each treatment at both harvest times Stokes Bay 2020. (Biomass kg/Ha).
Figure 2: Bar plot of averages across treatments of cuts at each date for Stokes Bay trial. Biomass (kg/Ha)
Error bars are standard errors. Refer to codes in Table 2 to identify treatments.
Conclusion
There was no significant difference on a dry matter basis between all fertiliser products. Nor was there an effect of the cumulative amount over the four harvest times.
There was high variability across the site owing to the effect of the January bushfire.
There was a hint in the data that plots receiving treatment D (single super) were the least productive at both the Parndana and the Stokes Bay trials.
Download independent trial
For the full trial, including methods, results and conclusion, download here.
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